Author: Kevin Grandia

The games available on iTunes are just getting better and better. Here’s 3 free iPhone game apps I downloaded today and took for a spin.

Chronology: Times Changes Everything: this puzzle adventure started out awesome with some pretty dramatic music and an end of the world storyline. But, I hate to say it, no more than a few steps into the game and I couldn’t figure out what the heck to do. I got stuck trying to jump over a giant rock, so I hit the settings tab to see if there were hints on game control and the screen froze. Soooooo….moving on to the next review.

Kunin Ninja in Training:you had me at ninja. This game is ridiculously addictive. Hop around whack poison darts and ninja throwing stars with your Samurai sword, go into overdrive and open up a serious can of ninja whoopass. What more do you need? Simple game, total time killer while your waiting at the DMV to renew your license.

Evoker:this is a dark goth-type game… the loading symbol is a pentagon! The icon is creepy. Opening scene is a beautiful ocean scene that suddenly explodes and then flashes to ghouls, devils and the like. I am usually not too into these card, Final Fantasy-type games, but this game is actually pretty sweet. Doesn’t hurt that the graphics and sound effects are amazing. Okay, got to fight a throat-cutter.

Here’s some great new games I downloaded and tried out from the iPhone app store. It’s worth noting that while the games are free to download, most of them have in-game purchases.

1. Godus: be the god you always wanted to. Build a following, create new lands and keep your people happy. Very cool graphics, great controls, but a very involved game. So if you’re looking for some quick brain candy this game might not be for you.

2. Zombie High Dive: literally high diving zombies. Amazing graphics and sound. I could see myself trying to master this game on a long airplane ride.

3. Armor Blade: battling ogres, giants, skeletons etc… Not really for me, as it is pretty hectic and involved. But for those into Clash and Clans and the like, you will probably enjoy this game. My daughters love it.

5 quick hit #app stories and why you should care:

Why it’s big deal: more and more apps are able to scan our personal information, but a passport is a biggie given how valuable this document is. What could be next? Maybe police accepting a scanned version of your driver’s license.

Why it’s a big deal: obviously this is a very politically charged app given the horrific fighting in the Gaza region, but from a tech point of view the big news is that the app has garnered 350,000 supporters since it was launched a few days ago.

Why it’s a big deal: Facebook Messenger has over 1 billion downloads, so any news is big news. But this controversy raises some serious questions about your rights to privacy and information. For example, one of the terms of service states that by accepting you are allowing the app to possibly “call phone numbers without your intervention.”

Why it’s a big deal: this story shows the importance of finding a good news angle (if you can) when you launch your app. The app is pretty clever in it’s simplicity, but the great news angle is that it was created by five 19 year-olds. That, and it’s a pizza app which bounds to make it a big story in North America. And maybe Italy?

Why it’s a big deal: it’s not really that big a deal, but I love the idea. Super-fun twist on SnapChat. Take 10 second videos based on instructions from a friend… wait, now that I think about this, it could get pretty… well how do I say this… er, risque.